Post production editing of film and video works may be efficiently accomplished using offline and online editing systems. Offline editing systems generate an edit list by manipulating unedited takes that have been stored in video tape or laser video disk format (i.e., motion picture film takes that have been transferred to video tape or video disk), and stored addresses (time codes) identifying the first and last frame of each take. The edit list specifies a sequence of selected takes (with transitions between the takes), which may subsequently be used by an online editing system to generate an edited master film (or tape) from the originally produced medium (i.e., motion picture film).
Post production offline editing systems have been proposed which include means for storing unedited video takes and addresses (on video tape or laser video disks), and computer means for controlling the display of selected unedited video takes (or frames of such takes) and generating the edit list in response to user-entered commands.
Throughout this specification, the noun "edit" shall be used (with reference to video signals) to denote one or more consecutive video frames which correspond to all or part of a scene or take. With reference to audio signals, the noun "edit" shall be used to denote a left or right channel of an audio soundtrack which corresponds to a video edit. The noun "splice" shall be used to denote the transition between two edits, and the noun "show" (or "video program" or "audio program") shall be used to denote a sequence of edits and splices.
A "splice" may be a simple cut, in which the end (i.e., the last frame) of a first edit is concatenated with the beginning (i.e., first frame) of a second edit. Alternatively, a splice (whether video or audio) may be a more complicated transition, such as a wipe, fade, or dissolve. For example, a show may consist of a first edit, followed by a simple cut to a second edit, followed by a dissolve splice to a third edit. Typically, a show will include a video portion, as well as left and right channels of an audio soundtrack.
Sometimes in the specification, the terms "left" and "right" edits will be used respectively to denote earlier and later edits. Used in this sense, for example, when a viewer views a show in its normal time sequence (i.e., not in a reversed sequence), the viewer will see the left edit before the right edit.
Several systems have been proposed for post production offline editing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,994 (issued May 24, 1988, to Ettlinger) discloses a computer-based video editing system in which unedited takes are stored on video tape recorders (although the reference also includes a very general suggestion that video disk players may be substituted for the video tape recorders). A computer system enables the user to control the video tape recorders and generate an edit list. The computer system displays a sequence of menus which prompt the user to perform various editing operations (such as displaying desired frames of the unedited takes, shuttling frame-by-frame through a stored unedited take, adding edits to an edit list, and playing back the sequence of takes defined by the edit list). The user may select various ones of the editing operations by actuating a light pen.
For another example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,342 issued Jun. 28, 1988, to Duffy) discloses a computer-based video editing system in which unedited takes are stored on video disk players. After generating an edit list, the user may command the system to electronically splice takes in accordance with the edit list and play back the edited show. By using a control console 50 with a control buttons 100 through 112 and a dial 114, the user may command the system to display individual frames of the stored takes, or "roll" one or more takes (or an edited sequence of takes) in forward or reverse motion, at any of a variety of speeds.
However, use of light pens (as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,994) is cumbersome and distracts the user's attention from the editing operation, and use of dials and buttons as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,342 is also cumbersome as the dials and buttons perform only a limited number of functions, necessitating use of a computer keyboard to perform other essential post production editing functions. Furthermore, until the present invention, it had not been known how to provide global access to a variety of video post production environments (i.e., computer menus for scene logging, edit list modification, replay of an edited show, and the like) at any point during an post production offline editing operation, and it had not been known how to design user interface software to accomplish this function using convenient icons which may be selected by the use using a mouse-type input device.